Neighbor News
What Are Our Priorities? Medfield Assisted Living Conflict - A Different Perspective
The article describes a favorable perspective regarding the LCB Senior Living plan to develop an assisted living facility in Medfield.
As I sit and read the latest news about a Medfield assisted living facility, the Clark Tavern, the Medfield Historical Society, zoning issues, LCB Senior Living, and about impending traffic and compromised aesthetics, my head spins. I thought twice about writing in but have always appreciated Lady Sybil’s (Downton Abbey) prompting, “It is doing nothing that is the enemy.”
This letter is not about land or zoning or historical aesthetics. It is however about priorities, about what truly matters in life…what matters even more as we age.
Aging is not an option, not for anyone. It is how gracefully we handle the process and how lucky we are as the process handles us. - Cindy MacDonald
Find out what's happening in Medfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Unfortunately, aging is not viewed by many as a friend. Aches, pains, illnesses, and worse yet, memory failure, are typically synonymous with aging. It is an unwelcome acquaintance whom we ignore, mistreat and often disrespect until it ‘acts up’, finally succeeding to gain our attention. In order to accept, and ultimately live with aging, a paradigm shift must occur within us. Not only must we strive to accept our own growth and age, we also attempt to assist and support our family and friends through it as well. Our perspective on aging must shift to encompass respect, wisdom, valued experience, and the pursuit of preserving quality of life until death. We are not able to avoid aging regardless of where we live, how many friends we have, how many miles we run or how much money we have.
As we are all aware, the geriatric population is escalating (see below links). As we all age with each passing day, we may ask what is most important in our lives? In the end, it is about the people we impact and the positive relationships we build; it is about who we care about and who cares about us. The rest is extraneous and irrelevant. Even death does not erase the impact of one human life on another.
Find out what's happening in Medfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A Medfield assisted living facility at the route 109 location would offer local seniors (even possibly our own friends and family members) a place to belong in a familiar and friendly town with shops and restaurants nearby to visit. The route 109 site would offer a sense of community acceptance and safety, unlike the albeit beautiful yet secluded Hospital Road area. We, as Medfield residents, could have a role in developing a state of the art assisted living with an excellent reputation for health and memory care. So let us remember what matters most to us and consider supporting a gateway to aging with strength, dignity and quality of life.
